Now, generally many slot machines, which execute a reel game, are installed in casinos. In these slot machines, there are many machines, which execute a game including a primary game and a free spin game. Since the free spin game is usually carried out as a bonus game of the primary game, the free spin game is set up so that higher prizes may be paid to a player, and is positioned as a game, which further excites a player. The conventional free spin game is performed in a form just like a primary game, and it has the feature that a winning combination appears with high probability. However, the free spin game is insufficient as a position of a bonus game, and it does not excite players enough. Under such status, there had been a desire for an appearance of a primary game or a secondary game, such as a free spin game, which can excite players more.
There are US2004/0072606 as prior art references of the technical field to which the present invention belongs. In the prior art reference, a gaming machine, which executes a slot game, is disclosed. The gaming machine is provided with an apparatus for counting a predetermined symbol passing on a reel display, and a display section for displaying the number of the counted symbol on an upper side of each reel line. The prior art reference discloses an invention, which determines an award amount based on the counted number. Further, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,004,207 and 6,203,430 disclose gaming machines that have a feature of counting the number of appearance of a predetermined symbol or the number of times that the symbol passed, and reflecting the number to a bonus amount etc. In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 5,018,737 discloses a gaming machine, which has a feature of decreasing a rotation speed of a reel.